A leading company focused on virtual transformation.
Amazon uses well-established influencers to generate site sales, and some of them make a lot of cash with the platform.
Kim Pratt is a skin care influencer who runs the YouTube channel “Natural Kaos”, which has 108,000 subscribers. For each and every element he mentions in his videos, even the cotton swabs he uses, Pratt adds a special link to buy in the video description, taking his fans directly to Amazon.
Pratt is a member of Amazon’s influence program, and for every acquisition someone makes through one of their links, they earn a commission ranging from 4% to 10% through the partner program, he said.
Amazon introduced the program in 2017 and serves as an extension of the affiliate program, the company’s partner marketing program for creators, publishers, and bloggers.
The Amazon Influencer program gives members the opportunity to create their own show to list the products they present to subscribers. To be accepted, Amazon reviews the number of subscribers an author has on platforms such as Instagram and YouTube (among other measures of engagement), the type of content an author posts, the amount of content they’ve shared with their subscribers, and the relevance of that content. Amazon Customers.
So how much do those influencers make on Amazon?
The profits of Pratt’s Amazon partners exceed their monthly revenue on YouTube (generated through ads classified in their videos), he said. But those numbers can fluctuate. In June, Pratt had his most productive month on YouTube, earning about $7,000, according to a screenshot of his research panel viewed through Business Insider. At Amazon, he earned about $6,000, he said, which was close to his monthly platform average in 2020.
Last year, Pratt earned about $800 a month from Amazon, he said. But as his YouTube channel has grown with viral videos about skincare trends, Pratt’s revenue on Amazon has also increased, he said. In 2019, he ended up earning more than $24,000 in Amazon commission sales, he said.
Shortly after Pratt introduced his YouTube channel in 2018, he created an account in Amazon’s Associates program to get his videos done.
Anyone can create an Amazon Associates account, but at the time Pratt didn’t think their subscribers would click on their links and buy anything. But in his first month, he won about $79 and was surprised by the ease with which he earned that money.
“Before I even monetized on YouTube, Amazon Affiliate paid me,” he said. “I think I made $600 that fall, before my first YouTube ad. I started to realize it was a valid business.”
His YouTube channel accepted YouTube’s partnership program in December 2018, allowing him to start making money from Google’s classified ads in his videos.
Pratt changed his Amazon Associate account to the Amazon Influencer program in 2019, so he can create a traditional page to keep all the products he advised his subscribers to buy in one place. This feature is open to influencers in the U.S., UK, and Canada, and Pratt has accounts for all 3 regions (since his YouTube audience is global), which he will need to manage separately.
Enrolling in a partner program is not a value for all influencers, and those systems are mainly popular among those in the fashion, good looks and generation categories.
The explanation for why Amazon’s program is so lucrative for Pratt is that many viewers who watch beauty and skincare videos come to the video to buy new pieces to get on their routine. They’re motivated to buy.
But still, you don’t make much cash with the first purchase made through one of your subscribers, because the products you regularly connect to range from $5 to $20. Your secret weapon on Amazon is that you also get a percentage of what your subscribers buy for a day after being directed to Amazon with your link.
“You get a percentage of everything the user buys during that 24-hour period,” he said.
The Amazon Partner Program is the only way to attract influencers.
Amazon offers some other systems for influencers such as The Drop (on-demand collections designed through influencers) and Amazon Live, which allows creators to live stream the Amazon Live Creator app (and get sales relief). The ability to stream live opened to all Amazon influencers in mid-July.
Pratt streams live on Amazon every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and a live stream, will review some other pieces sold on Amazon, showing how he uses them (similar to a grocery telecom stream channel). Next to the video, there is a shopping bar that highlights the product being talked about, adding the value and ability for the audience to buy directly. You’ll check several skin care and makeup products, or look for a new snack.
But Pratt said that so far, Amazon’s transmission is greater in theory than in practice.
“The theory is that I’m going to put online and use those 20 products that are on my carousel and while I’m live, if someone crosses paths with me and looks and clicks on a link I share, I get credits for that,” he says. “But the challenge right now is that they don’t feel like they’re pushing the program towards the Amazonian population.”
Unlike Instagram’s IGTV or YouTube subscriptions tab, there is no portal where users can see all of the Amazon influencers they follow. Pratt said it would generally announce the fact that it was about to be posted on his Instagram page to push his fans to take a look at Amazon. Otherwise, no one will know.
“Unless I go out of my way to tell other people on Instagram that I’m about to live on Amazon, no one shows up,” he said. “It’s a challenge for me to take some time off From YouTube and give it to Amazon. For me, posting on Amazon is not as lucrative as it would be to do it on YouTube.”
Pratt said he was broadcasting live on Amazon because it gave him the opportunity to work strongly with the company and provide feedback to help the platform.
But for now, YouTube is better at turning cash into a live stream than Amazon, or even Instagram and Facebook, which don’t have built-in monetization features for live streams. If Pratt streams live on YouTube, your subscribers will receive a push notification and start signing in. You can also monetize live streams on YouTube with ads, adding links associated with the video description.
“At the end of the day, if I only went live on YouTube, it would be the ultimate return on investment of my time,” he said of the live stream.